GU's Gonzales pre-season first-team All-American

Less than a month away from first pitch, Gonzaga University junior Marco Gonzales was named to Baseball America’s 2013 preseason All-America first-team Thursday.

This is the third preseason first-team All-American honor Gonzales has been named to in 2013. The Fort Collins, Colo., native was also named first-team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and by Perfect Game.

Gonzales returns to Gonzaga coming off a spectacular sophomore season where he compiled an 8-2 record with a 1.55 ERA on the mound. The two-way player was just as successful at the plate where he hit .325 for the Zags.

The southpaw, one of three finalists for The 2012 College Baseball Hall of Fame's John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, appeared in 12 games for the Zags with three shutouts to go with 92 strikeouts. He led the West Coast Conference in ERA and tied for second in wins helping the club to a 34-22 record. Opposing hitters only hit .201 off him with only 12 extra-base hits.

Gonzales is the reigning WCC Pitcher of the Year and NCBWA District IX Player of the Year.

This summer, Gonzales pitched for the USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team and was named Best Pitcher for the bronze medal U.S. team of Honkbal Week in Haarlem, The Netherlands. He finished 3-0 for the national team with a 2.82 ERA in four appearances.

Bulldog baseball opens the season Feb. 15 against Utah Valley University in Palm Springs, Calif.